The verdict in three sentences
A store plus a Flutterwave inline checkout puts you in production within one week to collect card and bank payments in Lagos, without rebuilding your shop. Flutterwave charges around 1.4 % on local cards, 1 % on bank transfers, settles T+1, and the official plugin is free, though it adds roughly 150 kb to checkout. The decision: official plugin (fast, maintained) or custom gateway (full control, pricier), based on volume and UX demands.
Official plugin or custom gateway: the trade-off
An official plugin installs, configures with your API keys and works. A custom gateway rewrites the payment class to control every screen and webhook. Here is the comparison with Moov Money (Togo) as a mobile money reference often paired for cross-border reach.
| Criterion | Official plugin | Custom gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | 1 week | 2-3 weeks |
| Cost | Free | Bespoke development |
| Checkout UX control | Limited | Full |
| Maintenance | Vendor | You |
| Webhook handling | Included | To code |
| Added weight | ~150 kb | Optimisable |
For a first Lagos launch, the free official plugin is the right call: you validate the market before investing in a custom gateway.
Fees, settlement and network reliability
Providers differ on fees and payout timing. Early-2026 orders of magnitude.
| Parameter | Flutterwave Nigeria | Moov Money Togo |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | 1.4 % local card / 1 % transfer | 1.5 % |
| Settlement | T+1 | Per tariff |
| Store plugin | Free (official) | Free |
| Added checkout weight | ~150 kb | ~180 kb |
| Network failure rate (peak) | ~3 % | ~7 % |
| Confirmation webhook | Yes (signed) | Yes |
Inline checkout keeps the customer on your page, which lifts completion. Always confirm the order on the signed webhook, never on the browser return, and handle the peak-hour failures with a clear "try again" message and automatic retry.
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Mini case study
Chidi, who runs an electronics store in Lagos, wanted card and transfer payments without leaving his platform. The Flutterwave inline plugin is configured and tested in 6 days. On 400 orders/month at an average NGN 40,000, i.e. NGN 16,000,000, the 1.4 % card fee costs about NGN 224,000/month. Inline checkout lifts completion versus his old redirect, recovering the equivalent of 20 orders, i.e. NGN 800,000 in saved revenue each month. The plugin being free, only the 6-day install needs funding.
FAQ
Is the Flutterwave plugin really free? Yes, the base plugin is free; you pay only the 1.4 % card / 1 % transfer fees on collections. The real cost is install and test time (about one week).
What is inline checkout exactly? An overlay that opens on your page so the customer pays without a full redirect, which reduces abandonment versus a hosted redirect flow.
Do I have to code the webhooks myself? With the official plugin, webhook handling is included. With a custom gateway you must code signature verification and idempotency.
How much does the plugin add to checkout speed? About +150 kb. On 3G that stays acceptable if the rest of the page is optimised (WebP images, caching).
Can I combine cards with mobile money? Yes — pair Flutterwave with a mobile money rail like Moov Money (1.5 %) to cover customers who prefer MoMo alongside cards.
Let's talk about your project. We add Flutterwave inline checkout to your store in one week, webhooks and retry included. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
